


every time you call my name (i can't stop smiling)

by magnificentbirb



Category: iKON (Korea Band)
Genre: Bunny Snuggles, Established Relationship, God Bless Mari & Me, M/M, Unrepentant Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-10
Updated: 2017-09-10
Packaged: 2018-12-26 07:24:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,685
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12054132
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/magnificentbirb/pseuds/magnificentbirb
Summary: There’s a rabbit between them, snuggled into Hanbin’s side, and Jinwhan is not jealous in the least.





	every time you call my name (i can't stop smiling)

**Author's Note:**

> Mari & Me is the best reality show that ever happened to me.
> 
> Also please pray for me now that I'm officially writing kpop fic.
> 
> Title from "My Type."

The streetlights cast unfamiliar shadows on the tall walls of the Mari house. Jinhwan is rarely in the cozy single-room homes—dogs don’t seem to be placed there often, and that's all he's had to take care of thus far—but this time he’s sharing with Hanbin and Beige, and apparently two boys and a rabbit do not a multi-room home merit.

Jinhwan stares up into the dark shadows of the ceiling. Red lights blink back at him, revealing a camera in every corner, always watching. The room is dark from his point of view, save for the soft umber glow of the streetlights outside, but Jinhwan knows that the cameras are capturing every moment of this night, suffused in dull green night-vision. Jinhwan wonders how closely the staff monitor the nighttime tapes. Do they fast-forward through them, assuming that nothing television-worthy will occur while both animals and caretakers are sleeping? Or do they watch every moment, hoping for that perfect, adorable shot of snuggling, or a wayward mari causing havoc?

Jinhwan turns his head to the left. He can just make out the shape of Hanbin beneath the other set of blankets, the soft fall of his hair over his forehead, the shadowed outline of his cheek. Hanbin’s breathing is deep and steady; he must already be asleep. Jinhwan smiles without really meaning to. Hanbin has said before that some of the best nights of sleep he’s gotten recently have been at the Mari house. He’s allowed to go to bed before midnight and sleep a solid six to seven hours before inevitably being roused by a hungry pet—how often has that happened, in recent years?

Something rustles in the darkness, and Jinhwan’s eyes are drawn to the small fuzzy shadow nestled in Hanbin’s blankets. He narrows his eyes.

“Traitor,” he mutters, and he’s not sure whether he means the rabbit (who almost definitely likes Hanbin better than Jinhwan, not that Jinhwan is bitter, or anything) or Hanbin.

Hanbin shifts, curling ever so slightly around Beige, and lets out a sleepy sigh that definitely does not make Jinhwan’s chest tighten.

_No_ , Jinhwan tells himself. _Not tonight._ This is not the time nor place for Jinhwan to be experiencing inconvenient fond feelings for Kim Hanbin. There are cameras everywhere, and there’s a rabbit between them, snuggled into Hanbin’s side, and Jinhwan is definitely not jealous in the least.

Or at least, that’s what he keeps telling himself.

If he were being honest, though, this entire day has been an emotional struggle. In fact, this entire _show_ has been an emotional struggle. He loves the animals, he does, and he gets along well with the other hosts, but watching animals fall in love with Kim Hanbin one after another has been… well, exhausting. And terribly relatable.

And now, finally, Jinhwan gets to witness it for himself. He was able to watch as Beige gradually became more comfortable with the space, as he eventually settled in Hanbin’s presence, twining around Hanbin’s legs like an overeager cat, even going so far as to lean his little head into Hanbin’s fingers, begging to be scratched. He eventually ended up settling beside Hanbin to sleep, once the lights were out, clearly marking Hanbin as the favored mari dad.

To be quite honest, though, Jinhwan can’t really blame the rabbit for his attachment to Hanbin, seeing as Jinhwan has felt similarly for years now. If he had a choice, he too would have curled up beside Hanbin for the night.

With a sigh, Jinhwan rolls onto his side so that he is facing Hanbin. His eyes have begun to adjust to the darkness, and he can see that Hanbin’s head is turned his way. Hanbin looks his age when he’s asleep, with all of the usual stress removed from the lines of his face, replaced with a softness that makes Jinhwan’s chest go warm.

He hates the few feet of blankets and bunny that lie between them.

With a furtive glance up at the cameras, Jinhwan rolls as carefully and naturally as he can onto his stomach, and scoots a few inches closer to Hanbin’s nest of blankets. Beige snuffles and lifts his head, big eyes gleaming at Jinhwan in the darkness, nose twitching. Jinhwan raises a finger to his lips and makes a quiet shushing noise. He pauses for another few seconds, his heart beating feather-quick in his chest, and then he shuffles a bit closer, until he is mere inches away from Hanbin’s arm, which is still curled protectively around Beige.

Jinhwan allows himself a few moments to just watch Hanbin breathe. The cameras can’t keep this from him, at least: Hanbin’s softly parted lips, the gentle sweep of hair across his brow, the even sound of his breathing.

Jinhwan wants to keep him, like this. Warm and comfortable and stress-free, at least for now.

Keeping his hand hidden beneath the blankets, Jinhwan slowly reaches over to trail light fingers up Hanbin’s forearm. He pauses to give Beige a little scratch on his head; the rabbit closes his eyes, pleased with the attention. Jinhwan lets his fingers travel gradually up Hanbin’s arm until they reach his shoulder—still hidden beneath Jinhwan’s blanket, now rising higher and higher over the both of them—and then he traces his fingertips lightly across Hanbin’s neck before letting his hand settle against Hanbin’s jaw.

Hanbin inhales audibly, waking at Jinhwan’s touch. He stretches beneath the blankets, shoulders tensing, and opens his eyes, fixing Jinhwan with a groggy gaze. He opens his mouth to speak, but Jinhwan presses a gentle finger to his lips, silencing him, and shoots a warning glance at the cameras. He sees the moment Hanbin understands, and he moves his hand from Hanbin’s lips back to his jaw, letting his thumb trace a gentle line over Hanbin’s cheek, back and forth, back and forth. Hanbin smiles at him, a crooked, sleepy smile that Jinhwan wants to bottle up and hold onto forever, and then he leans closer, pressing his forehead against Jinhwan’s with a small sigh. Jinhwan carefully lifts the blankets over them—pretending to stretch, in case the cameras are watching—and, hidden by shadows, tilts his head to press his lips gently against Hanbin’s.

This is by no means the first time they have done this. There have been stolen kisses, covert cuddles, and less-than-secret hand-holding since before they even became a part of Team B, but they’ve kept it away from the cameras as much as possible, and they’ve never really put a name to it. The affection and closeness has been constant, and at times overwhelming, but overall it has been a comfort to them both, and they’ve agreed that that’s good enough for now.

So Jinhwan is pleasantly familiar with the way that Hanbin’s lips part beneath his, and the way that Hanbin rolls toward him (gently, so as not to disturb Beige) and rests a hand on his waist, fingers squeezing just so. And he is pleasantly familiar with the warmth that spreads from his chest and into his limbs, dizzying him, as he reminds himself, _I am kissing Kim Hanbin._ That heady thought alone never fails to make his breath stutter. Jinhwan curls a hand into the soft hair at the nape of Hanbin’s neck, eliciting a low, needy noise from Hanbin’s throat.

“Wait,” Hanbin breathes, pulling briefly away from Jinhwan’s lips. “Beige. We can’t do anything with him here. It’s too weird.”

Jinhwan lets out a breathless little laugh. “I wasn’t planning on doing much more than kissing,” he whispers. “I’m not weird enough to want to do anything around a rabbit. I just... “ He sighs, carding his fingers through Hanbin’s hair. “I missed you. As stupid as that sounds, considering we’ve spent the whole day together.”

Hanbin smiles and bumps his forehead against Jinhwan’s again, nuzzling closer. Jinhwan kisses him again, soft and chaste, and then reluctantly pulls away as he lets the blankets fall, revealing their faces and Beige to the hidden cameras once more.

Beneath the blankets, Hanbin’s arm—the one still curled around Beige—presses against Jinhwan’s, and he links their fingers together, squeezing tightly.

“Go to sleep, Hanbin-ah,” Jinhwan says, squeezing back, and Hanbin closes his eyes.

They’re quiet for about a minute or so, the silence disturbed only by Beige rearranging himself after Hanbin’s shift in position, and Jinhwan assumes that Hanbin has fallen back asleep. Just as Jinhwan is about to drift off, though, a soft voice breaks the silence:

“You aren’t jealous of Beige, are you?”

Jinhwan cracks open one eye to glare at Hanbin, who is beaming at him in the darkness.

“I’m not even going to dignify that with a response,” Jinhwan says, closing his eye again.

“Oh, come on,” Hanbin says, his voice quietly wheedling. “I saw the way you watched him when he was begging me to pet him. It’s okay to admit it.” He pauses, and Jinhwan can hear the smile in his voice when he says, “You know I like you better, right?”

Jinhwan squeezes Hanbin’s hand, this time digging his fingernails into the soft skin around Hanbin’s knuckles. Hanbin hisses, trying to jerk his hand away, but his discomfort quickly fades into barely suppressed laughter.

Beige, clearly fed up with the both of them, kicks out with one of his rear legs, catching Jinhwan in the wrist.

“Okay, okay,” Hanbin says, reaching down to smooth back Beige’s ears. “We’ll go to sleep.”

They’re quiet for another few moments, just listening to each other breathe.

“I’m not jealous,” Jinhwan whispers eventually, and he’s honestly not sure whether that’s true, but in the darkness, with Hanbin’s hand in his, it seems to matter less. “I just wanted to sleep by you.”

Hanbin rubs his thumb over Jinhwan’s knuckles, soft and soothing. “I wanted to sleep by you, too.”

Jinhwan huffs, but he can’t help but smile. “Go to sleep, Hanbin-ah,” he says again.

“Fine.” The smile is still in his voice, as clear as a summer sky, and Jinhwan cuddles ever so slightly closer before finally falling asleep.


End file.
